Scribner's  Monthly. 


Vol.  XVIII. 


SEPTEMBER,  1879. 


No. 


name,  and  to  the  voyager  from  Europe  it  is 
the  extended  right  arm,  lamp  in  hand,  which 


SANDY  HOOK. 

Every  American  knows  Sandy  Hook  by  ;  offers  first  greeting  to  the  land  of  promise. 

Of  itself,  it  is  not  particularly  inviting. 
It  consists  of  a  long,  low,  sandy  penin- 
sula, of  drift  formation,  the  continuation 
of  a  sand-reef  skirting  the  Jersey  coast, 
which  projects  northward  five  miles  into 
the  lower  bay  of  New  York, and  forms  the 
eastern  break-water  of  Sandy  Hook  Bay. 
In  width  it  varies  from  fifty  yards  at  the 
Neck,  near  Highlands  Bridge,  where  jet- 
ties of  brush-wood  form  but  a  frail  pro- 
tection against  easterly  storms,  to  a  full 
mile  at  the  point  where  the  main  light  is 
located.  Those  who  look  upon  it  from 
excursion  boats  or  incoming  steamers 
see  only  a  strip  of  white  sand-beach  and 
a  thick  growth  of  cedars,  broken  here 
and  there  by  light-houses  and  low  build- 
ings ;  but  closer  inspection  discloses  many 
interesting  details  by  which  this  outline 
is  filled  in. 

The  scenery  of  the  Hook  is  not  varied, 
but  it  is  unique.  Situated  within  twenty 
miles  of  America's  metropolis,  and  threat- 
ened on  every  hand  by  advancing  lines  of 
hotels  and  summer  boarding-houses,  this 
isolated  spot,  owned  and  set  apart  by  the 

government  for  certain 
special  purposes,  has 
resisted  every  attempt- 
ed inroad  of  civiliza- 
tion, and  in  many 
places  retains  the  same 
wildness  that  it  had 
when  its  Indian  pos- 
sessors gazed  upon 
their  first  pale-faced 
visitors. 

A  first  glimpse  of 
Sandy  Hook,  discern- 
ed dimly  upon  the 
horizon  of  American 
history,  is  found  in  the 
diary  of  Robert  Juet,of 
Limehouse,  the  com- 
panion of  Henry  Hud- 

MA1N   LIGHT,    SANDV  HOOK,   AND  KEEPERS*    HEN-COOP.  SOn     durillg     hlS  third 

VOL.  XVIII. — 46.  [Copyright,  Scribner  &  Co.,  1879.    All  rights  reserved.] 


642 


SANDY  HOOK. 


MAP   OF    SANDY  HOOK. 


voyage.  The  name  of  the  "Ancient  Man  " 
Juet  is  rendered  infamous  by  his  participation 
in  the  mutiny  that  occurred  on  the  following 
voyage,  which  resulted  in  the  great  navi- 
gator being  left,  with  eight  sick  companions, 
in  a  shallop,  to  perish  miserably  in  a  wintry 
sea ;  but  Juet  showed  commendable  zeal  in 
keeping  a  journal,  and  he  has  given  to 
posterity  a  circumstantial  and  graphic  ac- 
count of  the  first  explorations  in  this  part 
of  the  New  World  which  is  of  inestimable 
historical  value.  His  journal,  first  made 
public  in  1625  by  Purchase,  in  "  His 
Pilgrimes,"  is  frequently  quoted  from ;  but, 
lest  the  reader  be  unacquainted  with  it, 
we  reprint  below  that  portion  describing 
his  impressions  upon  entering  the  lower 
bay  of  New  York,  this  extract  being  the 
first  recorded  account  of  the  region  we  are 
about  to  describe. 

The  diary  is  dated  1609,  and  the  record 
shows  the  Half Moon  to  have  been  off  Here- 
ford Inlet,  Cape  May,  at  noon  of  Sep- 
tember 1st,  bound  north-north- west  with  a 
fair  wind,  favored  by  which  she  hove  in  sight 
of  the  lower  bay  on  the  afternoon  of  the  fol- 
lowing day. 

"The  Fourth  (of  September,  1609).  *  *  *  Sowe 
trimmed  our  Boate  and  rode  still  all  day.  At  night 
the  wind  blew  hard  at  the  North-west,  and  our  Anchor 
came  home,  and  wee  droue  on  shoare,  but  tooke  no 
hurt,  thanked  bee  God,  for  the  ground  is  soft  sand 
and  Oze  [probably  Sandy  Hook].  This  day  the 
people  of  the  Country  came  aboord  of  vs,  seeming 
very  glad  of  our  comming,  and  brought  greene 
Tobacco,  and  gave  vs  of  it  for  Kniues  and  Beads. 
They  goe  in  Deere  skins  loose,  well  dressed.  They 
haue  yellow  Copper.  They  desire  Cloathes,  and 
are  very  ciuill.  They  haue  great  store  of  Maiz  or 
Indian  Wheate,  whereof  they  make  good  Bread. 
The  Countrey  is  full  of  great  and  tall  Oakes. 
[There  are  no  oaks  on  Coney  Island,  while  these 
are  abundant  on  the  Jersey  shore,  where  there  were 
also  two  important  Indian  encampments,  just  south 
of  the  mouth  of  the  Raritan  River.] 

"  The  Fifth. — In  the  morning  as  soone  as  the  day 
was  light,  the  wind  ceased  and  the  Flood  came. 
So  we  heaued  off  our  ship  againe  into  fiue  fathoms 
water,  and  sent  our  Boate  to  sound  the  Bay,  and 
we  found  that  there  was  three  fathoms  hard  by  the 
Souther  shoare.  [Admitting  this  to  refer  to  Raritan 
Bay,  all  the  subsequent  statements  seem  clear.] 
Our  men  went  on  Land  there,  and  saw  great  store 
of  Men,  Women  and  Children,  who  gaue  them 
Tobacco  at  their  comming  on  Land.  So  they  went 
vp  into  the  Woods,  and  saw  great  store  of  very 
goodly  Oakes,  and  some  Currants.  For  one  of 
them  came  aboord  and  brought  some  dryed,  and 
gaue  me  some,  which  were  sweet  and  good.  [Prob- 
ably huckleberries.  ]  This  day  many  of  the  people 
came  aboard,  some  in  Mantles  of  Feathers,  and 
some  in  Skinnes  of  diuers  sorts  of  good  Furres. 
Some  women  also  came  to  vs  with  Hempe.  They 
had  red  Copper  Tobacco  pipes,  and  other  things  of 
Copper  they  did  weare  about  their  neckes.  At 


SANDY  HOOK. 


643 


night  they  went  on  Land  againe,  so  wee  rode  very 
quiet,  but  durst  not  trust  them. 

"  The  Sixth. — In  the  morning  was  faire  weather, 
and  our  Master  sent  Iohn  Colman,  with  foure  other 
men  in  our  Boate  ouer  to  the  North- side,  to  sound 
the  other  Riuer,  being  foure  leagues  from  vs. 
[This  undoubtedly  refers  to  the  Narrows,  and  the 
Raritan  would  be  distant  about  the  space  named.] 
They  found  by  the  way  shoald  water  two  fathoms; 
but  at  the  North  of  the  Riuer  eighteen,  and  twentie 
fathoms,  and  very  good  riding  for  Ships;  and  a 


ments.  He  soon  afterward  purchased  from 
them  a  considerable  tract  of  land,  including 
all  of  Sandy  Hook  and  a  portion  of  the 
hill-side  where  the  town  of  Highlands  is  now 
located;  the  latter  tract  has  remained  in 
possession  of  his  descendants  ever  since. 
On  August  8th,  1678,  a  second  agreement 
was  entered  into  between  Hartshorne  and 
Chiefs  Vowavapon  and  Toeus,  wherein,  by 


ALONG  Til 

narrow  riuer  to  the  Westward  betweene  two  Hands 
[unquestionably  Kill  von  Kull].  The  Lands  they 
told  us  were  as  pleasant  with  Grasse  and  Flowers, 
and  goodly  Trees,  as  euer  they  had  seene,  and  very 
sweet  smells  came  from  them.  So  they  went  in 
two  leagues  and  saw  an  open  sea  [unquestionably 
Newark  Bay],  and  returned ;  and  as  they  came 
backe,  they  were  set  vpon  by  two  Canoes,  the  one 
hauing  twelue,  the  other  fourteene  men.  The  night 
•came  on  and  it  began  to  rayne,  so  that  their  Match 
went  out ;  and  they  had  one  man  slaine  in  the  fight,  j 
which  was  an  English  man,  named  Iohn  Colman,  I 
with  an  arrow  shot  into  his  throat,  and  two  more 
hurt.  [From  this  unhappy  circumstance,  Sandy 
Hook  gained  its  early  name  of  Colman 's  Point.] 
It  grew  so  darke  that  they  could  not  find  the  ship  j 
that  night,  but  labored  too  and  fro  on  their  Oares. 
They  had  so  great  streame,  that  their  grapnell 
would  not  hold  them." 

History  next  alludes  to  Sandy  Hook  in 
connection  with  Richard  Hartshorne,  an 
English  Quaker,  who  came  to  America  in 
1669  and  took  up  his  abode  on  the  Nave- 
sink  Hills,  not  far  from  the  Indian  encamD-  \ 


I  BEACH. 

the  additional  payment  of  thirteen  shillings 
by  Hartshorne,  the  Indians  relinquished  all 
right  to  fish,  hunt,  or  gather  beach-plums  on 
the  territory  in  question.  The  Indians  ap- 
pear to  have  kept  faith  with  this  agreement, 
for  we  find  no  record  of  any  further  trouble 
with  them. 

In  1679-80,  Andros  suggested  to  Carteret, 
governor  of  East  Jersey,  the  advisability  of 
erecting  beacons  or  "  sea-marks  for  shipping  " 
upon  Sandy  Hook, — called  by  him  "Sandy 
Point," — and  advised  the  purchase  of  land 
from  Richard  Hartshorne  for  this  purpose. 
This  seasonable  advice  was  not,  however, 
acted  upon  until  nearly  a  century  later,  and 
the  delay  proved  expensive,  for  when  the 
project  was  revived  in  176 1,  by  the  merchants 
of  NewYork,  the  sum  of  £7  50  was  demanded 
by  Robert  and  Isick  Hartshorne  for  the  tract 
of  four  acres  called  for,  and  the  soil  being 
about  as  arid  and  profitless  as  possible,  the 


644 


SANDY  HOOK. 


BACK    FROM    THE  BAY. 


investigating  committee  very  naturally  char- 
acterized this  as  "  unreasonable."  It  was, 
however,  decided  to  make  the  purchase, 
and  on  May  8th,  1761,  the  Assembly  of 
New  York  authorized  a  lottery,  not  to  ex- 
ceed ^3,000,  for  the  purpose  of  raising 
sufficient  money  to  pay  for  the  land  and  to 
erect  a  proper  beacon.  A  committee  of 
four  New  York  merchants,  Messrs.  Cruger, 
Livingston,  Lispenard  and  Bayard,  was 
appointed  to  superintend  this  lottery ;  and 
twelve  months  later  they  reported  that 
^2,666  15s.  6d.  had  thus  been  raised. 
The  Hartshorne  deed  transferring  the 
"light-house  tract"  of  four  acres  to  the 
New  York  representatives  is  dated  May 
10th,  1762,  and  accompanying  it  is  a  map 
of  the  locality,  particularly  interesting  from 
the  fact  that  it  indicates  the  original  location 
of  the  light-house,  eight  chains  and  fifty 
links,  or  a  little  over  500  feet  from  high- 
water  mark  north.    By  this  purchase  a  por- 


tion of  Sandy  Hook  was  annexed  to  New 
York,  and  it  remained  in  her  possession 
until  relinquished  to  the  general  government, 
which  afterward  purchased  from  the  Harts- 
horne family  all  the  remainder  of  the  Hook 
as  far  south  as  the  mouth  of  Youngs  Creek, 
the  second  and  third  deeds  of  sale  bearing 
the  dates,  February  26,  1806,  and  June  17, 
181 7.  The  amount  raised  by  the  first  lottery 
proving  insufficient,  in  December,  1762,  a 
second  ^3,000  lottery  was  authorized  by 
the  New  York  Assembly  for  the  Sandy 
Hook  fund,  which  was  drawn  on  June  13th 
in  the  following  year;  and  in  1764,  the  first 
light-house  was  completed  and  put  in  use. 
To  assist  in  defraying  the  cost  of  maintain- 
ing it,  a  duty  of  threepence  a  ton  was  laid 
on  all  ships  entering  the  port,  and  some 
idea  of  the  extent  of  the  commerce  of  those 
days  may  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that 
this  duty  realized  ^487  6s.  9d.  during  the 
first  twelve  months.  The  "  New  York  Maga- 


THE  PLUM-GATHERER. 


SANDY  HOOK. 


645 


zine,"  dated  August,  1790,  contains  an  en- 
graving of  this  first  light-house,  identical  in 
appearance  with  the  present  Main  Light,  to- 
gether with  a  full  description  of  it,  wherein 
we  learn  that  it  was  built  of  stone,  and 
<l  measured  from  the  surface  of  the  ground  to 
the  top  of  the  lanthorn,  106  feet."  By  act  of 
George  the  Third,  dated  May  2 2d,  1762,  it 
was  provided  that  trespasses  on  Sandy 
Hook  should  be  actionable  in  the  New 
York  courts.  The  original  of  this  act  is  on 
file  in  the  engineer's  office  in  Washington. 

We  find  no  record  of  any  further  occur- 
rence of  note  until  the  opening  of  the 
Revolution,  when  we  learn,  from  the  "Jour- 
nal of  the  Provincial  Congress,"  that  on 
March  4th,  1776,  the  New  York  Congress 
resolved  upon  the  de- 
struction of  this  bea- 
con, the  British  fleet 
being  daily  expected ; 
and  two  days  later 
instructions  were  is- 
sued to  Major  Malcom 
to  execute  the  order, 
and  to  be  careful  to 
employ  secrecy  and  to 
save  the  glass  and  oil 
if  possible.  Fortu- 
nately for  New  York 
commerce,  the  major 
proved  tender-heart- 
ed ;  we  find  no  evi- 
dence that  he  de- 
stroyed the  walls,  and 
the  following  memo- 
randum from  Colonel 
George  Taylor,  dated 
Middletown,  March 
1 2th,  1776,  enumer- 
ates the  further  sal- 
vage :  "  Received 
from  Wm.  Malcom, 
eight  copper  lamps, 
two  tackle  falls  and 
blocks,  and  three 
casks,  and  a  part  of 
a  cask  of  oil,  being 
articles  brought  from 
the  light-house  on 
Sandy  Hook."  The  ^ 
light  next  appears  in 

prominence  in  the  little-known,  but  invalu- 
able, "  Chart  of  the  Bar  of  Sandy  Hook,  and 
Entrance  of  Hudson's  River,"  made  from 
the  surveys  of  Lieutenant  Hills,  of  the  23d 
regiment,  and  published  in  London,  Jan. 
1,  1784.  This  chart  we  shall  frequently 
refer  to  further  on. 


Sandy  Hook  seems  never  to  have  fully 
determined  whether  to  be  a  peninsula  or 
an  island.  It  figures  in  both  capacities  in 
the  various  maps  and  charts  preserved  by 
the  New  York  Historical  Society.  The 
oldest  of  these  is  a  fac-simile  of  a  chart  dis- 
lodged not  many  years  ago  from  the  Royal 


646 


SAiYDY  JfOOK. 


this,  Sandy  Hook  is  called 
u  Sandpunt;"  the  Highlands 
of  Navesink,  "  De  Ronde- 
bergh;"  Raritan  Bay,  "Sand- 
bar;" and  two  settlements 
of  the  "  Aqvamachvke  " 
|  Hackensack  ?]  Indians  are 
indicated,  one  at  the  mouth 
of  Raritan  River,  and  the 
other  a  few  miles  south  of 
that  point.  "Sandpunt"  is 
here  a  peninsula  as  at  pres- 
ent, but  shorter  and  broader. 
The  rare  old  Tiddeman 
map,  printed  in  London 
about  1 7 19,  and  found  in 
1804  by  William  De  Pey- 
ster  among  his  grandfather's 
papers,  also  represents  it  as 
a  peninsula.  But  when 
General  Howe,  in  1778, 
retreated  from  the  battle  of 
Monmouth  by  the  Navesink 
road  and  embarked  at  the 
Hook,  it  is  clearly  stated 
that  he  built  a  temporary 
bridge  to  "Sandy  Hook 
Island"  a  statement  that  is 
confirmed  by  the  Lieutenant 
Hills  chart,  1784,  where  it 
is  shown  cut  off  from  the 
mainland  by  Shrewsbury 
Inlet.  In  1800  it  seems  to 
have  been  connected  again 
with  the  mainland,  but  just 
previous  to  1810  it  is  again 
shown  as  an  island,  and 
still  again  in  1830.  It  has 
also  changed  materially 
from  time  to  time  in  its  out- 
lines. It  is  of  drift  forma- 
tion, consisting  of  oblique 
layers  of  sand,  which  have 
without  doubt  been  thou- 
sands of  years  in  accumu- 
lating ;  the  lower  Hook, 
just  above  Spermaceti  Covej 
was  probably  once  its  ex- 
tremity. Within  the  mem- 
ory of  those  now  living  it 
has  increased  in  length 
nearly  half  a  mile.  The 
Main  Light,  which  in  1762 
was  located  500  feet  from 
the  extreme  northern  point, 
is  now  seven-eighths  of  a 
our  naturalist.  mjle  distant,  which  shows 

Archives  at  the  Hague,  which  was  presented  j  that  the  Hook  has  lengthened,  within  the 
co  the  States-General  on  Aug.  18,  1616;  in  1  period  named,  nearly  4,000  feet,    or  be- 


SAXDY  HOOK. 


647 


;\veen  thirty-five  and  forty  feet  a  year ; 
3ut  how  soon  the  sea  may  again  claim 

its  own,  no  one  can 
affirm.  The  rough 
map  given  on  page 
642  shows  the  pres- 
ent outlines  of  the 
Hook,  and  suggests 
the  situation  of  the 
points  mentioned 
below. 

Turning  our  backs 
upon  the  steam- 
boat pier  of  the 
New  Jersey  South- 
ern Railway,  which 
tips  the  point  above 
"Horse-shoe  Cove," 
let  us  now  stroll  lei- 
surely southward 
along  the  shore  of 
the  u  Horse-shoe, " 
toward  the  twin 
lights  of  the  Nave- 
sink  beacon  with 
their  connectingem- 
battled  building,  ris- 
ing from  the  Nave- 
sink  Highlands  be- 
fore us,  somber  and 
picturesque  as  a 
castle  of  the  Rhine. 
To  our  right  is  Sandy 
Hook  Bay,  an  arm  of  the  lower  bay  of  New 
York,  and  a  well  sheltered  harbor,  where, 
when  the  weather  is  foggy  or  the  winds 
contrary,  large  numbers  of  fishing  boats  and 
coasters  lie  anchored,  counted  at  times  by 
hundreds.  To  our  left  rises  a  steep  sand- 
bank, from  five  to  fifteen  feet  high,  crowned 
with  cedars,  which  crowd  close  to  the  brink, 
where  the  winds  sift  the  sand  from  their 
twisted  roots  until  they  pitch  headlong 
down  upon  the  beach,  dragging  their  com- 
rades with  them. 

The  first  object  of  special  interest  that  we 
approach  is  a  wrecked  canal-boat,  standing 
erect  in  the  sand,  broadside  on,  twenty  feet 
above  high-water  mark.  A  stranger  might 
pass  this  many  times  and  see  nothing  more 
than  a  wrecked  canal-boat ;  but  one  summer 
day  as  we  strolled  by,  a  small  window  stood 
open,  and  a  child  was  looking  out  of  it. 
Curiosity  led  us  to  walk  around  to  the  land- 
ward  side  of  the  wreck,  where  we  found  hen- 
coops, a  cow-shed,  a  pile  of  drift-wood,  and 
a  collection  of  fishing  gear,  including  nets, 
eel-pots,  and  clam-rakes.    "Surely,  some 


FISH- POUND. 


one  must  live  here,"  we  said,  and  knocked 
at  a  door.  A  pleasant-laced  (Jerman  woman 
opened  it,  and  after  some  preliminaries  we 
asked  permission  to  go  inside,  which  was 
granted.  Here  was  a  furnished  dwelling, 
with  four  rooms,  and  occupied  by  two 
families.  By  a  few  modifications,  including 
the  addition  of  roof,  windows,  doors  and 
a  smoke-pipe,  the  father  had  made  the 
boat  habitable;  and  a  woman's  hands  had 
done  the  rest.  The  outer  door  leads  into 
the  kitchen,  furnished  with  a  stove,  a  table 
and  chairs ;  to  the  right  of  this  is  a  store- 
room; and  to  the  left  is  the  cabin,  with 
bunks  against  the  stern,  now  converted  into 
a  bed-chamber.  There  are  six  small  win- 
dows in  this  room  ;  its  walls  are  decorated 
with  prints,  a  clock,  and  a  shelf  holding  the 
precious  four-volume  library :  a  Bible  and  a 
geography,  both  in  German,  an  English 
prayer-book,  and  "  Gospel  Hymns."  The 
furniture  is  simple,  and  most  of  it  was  made 
by  the  father.  In  one  of  the  bunks  sleep 
three  boys  who  have  never  visited  a  city. 
Here,  one  day  last  winter,  a  fourth  brother 
was  born,  and  when  we  went  to  call  upon 
him  in  the  spring,  a  new  family  of  ducklings 
was  sheltered  by  the  stove,  and  the  cat 
presented  herself  at  the  window,  offering 


OLD  LAM'MAKKS. 


648 


SANDY  HOOK. 


'rudder  grange     at  sandy  hook. 


one  of  her  kittens  for  inspection.  Within, 
everything  is  comfortable  and  clean,  and 
without  there  is  an  evident  air  of  thrift. 
The  boat  itself  still  cherishes  memories  of 
its  youthful  days  and  clings  to  the  memen- 
toes of  its  former  life,  as  if,  like  a  careful 
housewife,  it  anticipated  that  they  might 
become  of  use  again.  The  oakum  still 
sticks  to  its  joints,  the  rudder-post  remains 
firm,  and  on  the  stern  you  may  decipher  from 
the  faded,  weatherworn  lettering,  the  mat- 
ter-of-fact name  by  which  it  was  known  long 
ago,  when  it  drifted  leisurely  up  and  down 
the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal. 

Near  by  is  a  marshy  inlet  where  the  fid- 
dler crabs  have  formed  a  colony.  They 
are  active  little  bodies,  dragging  their  un- 
comfortable fiddles  about  with  them  in  a 
most  cheery  manner.  The  spider-crabs  and 
horse-shoes  occasionally  pay  them  visits; 
and  who  shall  tell  what  antics  are  cut  up, 


on  midsummer  nights,  during 
these  cousinly  reunions  ? 

Accepting  the  offer  of  one  of 
the  boys  from  the  canal-boat,  we 
are  rowed  by  him  down  the 
shore  as  far  as  the  Boiler  Testing 
Grounds,  used  for  some  years  by 
the  government  for  testing  the 
relative  strength  of  different 
grades  of  iron  used  in  the  con- 
struction of  boilers.  The  ap- 
propriation having  failed  last 
year,  the  experiments  were  dis- 
continued, and  the  grounds  ap- 
pear to  be  abandoned. 
A  short  distance  south  of  the  Boiler 
Grounds  is  a  second  inlet,  similar  in  shape 
to  the  "  Horse-shoe,"  known  as  "  Sperma- 
ceti Cove,"  so  named,  tradition  tells  us, 
from  a  whale  of  that  class  having  once 
been  stranded  here.  We  find  no  record  of 
the  occurrence,  but  the  fact  is  not  improb- 
able, for  in  the  last  century  whales  were 
frequently  taken  along  this  coast. 

Leaving  the  shore,  we  now  strike  east- 
ward into  a  picturesque  growth  of  cedars. 
To  the  trunk  of  one  of  these  is  nailed  a 
sign-board  with  the  governmental  order: 
"  No  Visitors  Allowed."  A  fish-hawk  has 
built  a  nest  on  the  tip-top  of  this  tree, — the 
biggest  kind  of  a  nest,  a  landmark  for 
miles  around,  and  here  his  mate  has  raised 
many  a  brood  in  security.  Some  of  the 
cedars  found  at  this  point  have  trunks  as 
large  round  as  a  man's  body,  and  as  this 


SANDY  HOOK. 


649 


THE  DOVE-COTE. 


tree  is  of  exceedingly  slow  growth,  they  help 
to  prove  the  antiquity  of  this  portion  of  the 
Hook.  It  has  been  decided  by  compe- 
tent authority  that  some  of  these  trees  must 
be  between  300  and  500  years  old.  Farther 
on  we  pass  through  several  burnt  tracts, 
where  brush  fires  have  crept  along  the 
undergrowth,  killing  the  trees,  but  leaving 
them  with  every  branch  and  twig  intact,  to 
drop  their  bark  in  shreds,  and  to  bleach  in  the 
rain  and  sunshine.  One  of  these  is  called 
"Captain  Kidd's  tree."  It  is  the  tallest  in  this 
region,  and  is  a  pine, — not  a  cedar, — the  only 
one  that  we  have  noticed  on  the  Hook.  To 
boatmen  approaching  from  the  south-east, 
this  tree  is  said  to  present  the  appearance 


of  a  full-rigged  ship,  and  this  sug- 
gested resemblance  is   thought  to 
have  given  rise  to  the  superstition 
that  treasures  lay  buried  beneath  it, 
— a   superstition    strengthened  by 
Cooper's  highly  colored  and  fantastic 
novel, "  The  Water  Witch."  the  interest 
of  the  plot  of  which  largely  consists 
in  the  references  to  Sandy  Hook  and 
vicinity.  Trenches  surround  the  Kidd 
tree,  and  the  sand  has  been  well 
sifted  from  its  roots.    In  some  places 
the  cedars  are  covered  by  lichens  and 
hanging  moss,  vividly  suggesting  the  glades 
on  the  Sea  Islands  off  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia.    Indeed,  Sandy  Hook  as  a  whole 
has  a  note  worthy  resemblance  to  those  islands, 
having  the  same  formation  and  the  same  gen- 
eral character  of  soil  and  vegetation.  That 
variety  of  cactus  known  as  the  "  prickly 
pear  "  is  found  in  every  part  of  the  Hook, 
and  forms  a  characteristic  feature ;  in  sum- 
mer it  bears  bright  yellow  blossoms,  which 
in  October  are  followed  by  a  red  fruit, 
succulent  and  pleasant  to  the  taste. 

The  fish-hawks  are  common  here,  and 
now  and  then  they  show  an  undue  appre- 
ciation of  the  benefits  of  society  by  con- 
fiscating somebody's  fat  chicken;  and  the 
fact  is  well  authenticated  that  on  one  oc- 
casion the  vest  of  a  workman  was  carried 
away  by  one  of  these  pirates  of  the  air. 
The  owner  returned  just  in  time  to  see 
his  property  go  sailing  away  in  the  clutches 
of  the  hawk.  With  celerity  and  skill 
equal  to  the  emergency,  he  brought  both 
down  by  a  well-directed  stone.  His  son 
afterward  had  the  curiosity  to  inspect  the 
nest  of  this  bird,  which  was  poised  like 
a  bundle  of  brushwood  on  the  top  of  a 
dead  cedar,  and  there  he  found  one  of  his 
father's  hammers  and  a  motley  collection  of 


A  SEA-SIDE  TURN-OUT. 


650 


SANDY  HOOK. 


other  articles  not  commonly  thought  need- 
ful to  the  household  economy  of  hawks. 

The  study  of  insect  life  was  diligently 
pursued  by  a  lady  friend,  a  naturalist,  who 
accompanied  us  on  one  of  our  excursions. 
To  her  eyes  Sandy  Hook  was  an  insect 
paradise,  and  we  must  admit  this  to  be  quite 
true  during  mosquito  season,  when  it  is  pur- 
gatory to  everybody  else.  Truth  compels  us 
also  to  admit  that  sand-adders  are  quite 
partial  to  the  Hook,  and  that  during  the  past 
few  years  they  have  increased  in  proportion 
to  the  decrease  of  the  hogs,  whose  fondness 
for  them  proves  more  fatal  than  man's 
hatred.  Black  snakes  are  also  occasionally 
seen,  much  to  the  terror  of  the  cattle. 

Leaving  the  cedar  grove,  we  now  cross  the 
railway  track,  and  suddenly  the  character  of 
the  vegetation  changes.  Desolate  sand-dunes 
rise  before  us,  blown  by  the  wind  and  un- 
clothed save  by  a  scanty  growth  of  sand-moss 
and  beach-plums;  and,  mounting  one  of  the 
higher  dunes,  we  see  the  vast  Atlantic, 
streaked  by  black  and  purple,  or  by  long  lines 
of  sunshine,  and  specked  by  white-caps. 

We  pass  the  little  red-painted  house  used 
as  a  life-saving  station,  which  is  provided 
with  a  complete  outfit.  Seven  men  are 
stationed  here,  and  from  April  15  to  Sep- 
tember 15  two  patrols  walk  the  shore 
throughout  the  night.  Of  late  they  have 
seldom  had  occasion  to  lend  a  helping  hand, 
since  most  of  the  wrecks  have  occurred  lower 
down  the  reef,  at  Long  Branch,  Squan,  and 
the  still  more  fatal  Barnegat.  A  mile  and 
a  half  east  of  this  point  is  the  Scotland 
light-ship,  and  six  miles  farther  east  the 
Sandy  Hook  light-ship — red,  with  two  red 
fixed  lights  forty-five  feet  above  the  sea- 
level  and  provided  with  an  automatic  fog- 
horn, whose  hoarse  voice  is  familiar  to  all 
transatlantic  travelers  who  have  had  the 
unhappiness  to  approach  the  port  of  New 
York  during  foggy  weather. 

A  two-mile  walk  northward  against  the 
wind  brings  us  to  the  main  light,  located 
half-way  between  the  two  shores,  or  about 
half  a  mile  from  either.  This  is  the  light- 
house that  was  completed  in  1764,  and  its 
stone  walls  are,  without  doubt,  the  same  that 
were  then  erected.  Various  improvements 
have  from  time  to  time  been  introduced, 
including  a  brick  lining,  iron  stairs  in  place 
of  wood,  and  a  French  lens  in  place  of  the 
copper  lamps  that  Major  Malcom  carried 
away ;  but  its  outward  appearance  has 
changed  very  little.  During  the  Revolu- 
tion it  played  an  important  role,  being  for- 
tified and  occupied  for  a  time  by  the  British 


and  refugees.  Previous  to  recent  repairs 
the  marks  of  cannon-shot  were  plainly  visi- 
ble on  its  walls.  When  introducing  the 
brick  lining  some  years  ago,  the  cellar  was 
excavated,  and  fourteen  feet  below  the 
flooring  the  workmen  came  upon  a  ponder- 
ous iron  door,  upon  removing  which  they 
penetrated  into  a  small  room,  where  a  fire- 
place was  found,  with  ashes  still  upon  it. 
What  this  prison-like  chamber  was  intended 
for  is  by  no  means  apparent.  The  lens 
is  ninety  feet  from  the  ground.  Close 
beside  the  tower  are  the  keeper's  house  and 
barn,  surrounded  by  shade  trees  and  a  flow- 
ering garden — an  oasis  in  the  midst  of  sand- 
hills. Here  almost  every  object  offers  a 
suggestion  of  storm  and  disaster.  That 
arm-chair  on  the  piazza  drifted  ashore  from 
the  brig  Swett  (Captain  George  Pendleton), 
which  foundered  off  the  east  shore  during 
the  winter  of  1868.  Here  is  a  remnant 
from  the  English  ship  Clyde,  and  there  one 
from  the  brig  Prosper,  which,  during  a  ter- 
rific gale,  drove  on  the  bar  near  the  west 
beacon.  Here  is  a  figure-head  that  once 
danced  over  the  waves  defiant  of  storms, 
now  warped  and  weather-stained  ;  and  on 
the  side  of  the  barn,  just  beneath  the  dove- 
cote, is  a  stern-board  bearing  the  name 
Trojan,  close  to  which  nestle  the  cooing 
doves.  The  cow-sheds  are  built  of  wreck- 
wood,  and  one  side  of  the  hen-coop  is  in- 
closed by  a  panel  from  a  French  brig,  elab- 
orately carved  with  sprays  of  foliage,  which, 
when  it  was  disentangled  in  fragments  from 
the  sea-wrack  upon  the  beach,  was  gorgeous 
with  gilding,  but  which,  with  the  exception 
of  a  bright  speck  here  and  there,  is  now 
bare  and  brown.  Keeper  Patterson  has 
been  in  charge  of  this  light  for  eighteen 
years,  during  which  period  more  than  fifty 
wrecks  have  occurred  within  sight  of  his 
lantern.  When  milking-time  comes,  the 
keeper's  cows  are  followed  to  the  barn-yard 
by  one  of  the  curiosities  of  the  Hook — an 
aged  goat,  of  unknown  species,  the  sur- 
vivor of  a  large  flock  descended  from  a 
pair  left  here  by  pilots  many  years  ago. 

The  sand-hills  that  surround  the  Main 
Light  are  covered  with  a  thick  growth  of 
the  beach-plums  so  prized  by  the  Indians  ; 
these  are  low  shrubs  of  the  pear  family, 
which  in  May  are  snowed  over  with  drifts 
of  white  blossoms,  and  in  early  September 
droop  under  the  weight  of  their  purplish 
fruit.  The  plums  are  about  the  size  of 
cherries,  having  an  agreeable  flavor,  not 
unlike  the  cultivated  varieties,  but  with 
more  acidity  and  a  slightly  bitter  taste.  When 


SANDY  HOOK.  651 


these  are  ripe  the  region  is  frequented  by 
many  women  and  children,  who  come,  often 
from  long  distances,  to  gather  them  for 
preserves  and  marketing.  Near  by  is 
"  Ocean  Cemetery,"  a  melancholy  half-acre, 
shadowed  by  cedars,  where,  among  the 
sand- grass  and  brambles,  appear  a  few 
crosses  and  wooden  head-boards ;  most  of 
those  buried  here  are  shipwrecked  mariners, 
unknown  by  name,  who  have  been  picked 
up  on  the  adjacent  beaches. 

The  boom  of  heavy  guns  grows  louder, — 
we  have  now  approached  so  near  the  point 
and  the  ordnance  department  that  the 
east  shore  is  no  longer  a  safe  resort.  We 
will  proceed  the  rest  of  the  way  by  the  west 
beach,  where  we  shall  probably  find  the 


a  hundred  feet  wide,  in  the  midst  of  which 
stand  the  town  pump  and  the  school-house. 
The  latter  contains  one  small  room,  where 
a  dozen  scholars  are  accustomed  to  gather 
daily.  It  is  here  that  the  three  boys  from 
the  canal-boat  come,  leaving  the  prints 
of  six  small  feet  upon  the  wet  beach. 
Sometimes  the  tide  crosses  their  path  at  the 
inlet,  and  they  are  forced  to  go  around 
through  the  cedar  grove ;  or  if  it  is  not  too 
deep  for  wading,  the  elder  boy  tucks  up  his 
trowsers  (or  removes  them,  as  the  case  may 
demand)  and  carries  the  others  across  on 
his  back.  To  the  outside  of  the  school- 
house  is  attached  a  covered  shelf  containing 
six  buckets  of  water, — this  is  Sandy  Hook's 
fire  department.  The  barracks  were  built 
in  1856-7,  for  the  engin- 
eers and  laborers  engaged 
in  building  the  Sandy 
Hook  Fort,  and  from  two 
to  three  hundred  men  were 


light-keeper's  pigs  investi- 
gating the  contributions  of 
the  last  tide.  One  day  we 
happened  along  just  in 
time  to  see  them  under 
somewhat  trying  circum- 
stances. A  party  of  gen- 
tlemen from  New  York  had  just  come  in 
from  blue-fishing,  and  landed  here  for  a 
ramble.  After  laboriously  cleaning  their  fish , 
they  laid  them  among  the  sand-reeds  and 
wandered  up  toward  the  light,  picking 
beach-plums  as  they  went.  Upon  returning 
they  perceived  with  dismay  this  company  of 
pigs  banqueting  upon  the  blue-fish.  The  pigs 
enjoyed  the  joke,  and  although  they  made 
their  next  half  mile  in  quicker  time,  and 
with  less  military  precision  than  customary, 
we  met  them  afterward  cheerfully  looking 
for  more. 

Before  us  are  the  barracks, — one  of  the 
most  picturesque  features  of  Sandy  Hook. 
These  consist  of  two  long  lines  of  two- 
story  houses,  separated  by  a  sandy  road-way 


THE   OLD    SCHOOL- HOUSE. 


then  quartered  here;  this  number  increased 
to  five  hundred  during  the  war,  when  several 
companies  of  recruits  were  also  stationed 
here  for  drill,  etc.  Soon  after  the  close  of 
the  war  work  on  the  fort  was  abandoned, 
from  lack  of  appropriations,  and  most  of  the 
buildings  are  now  in  a  dilapidated  condition. 
Those  that  are  still  habitable  are  occupied 
by  government  employes,  connected  with 
the  ordnance  department,  the  life-saving 
stations,  and  the  light-house  and  signal 
service,  or  by  Western  Union  Telegraph 
operators.  These  men  with  their  families 
number  about  fifty  souls,  and  compose 
somewhat  more  than  half  of  the  population 
of  the  Hook,  the  others  being  mainly  steam- 
boat and  railway  men,   living   near  the 


652 


SANDY  HOOK. 


THE    ELECTRIC    PRIMER,    SANDY  HOOK, 

0  . 

"  Horse-shoe."  These  residents  are  jocosely 
called  "Sand-hillers,"  and  a  strangely  iso- 
lated community  they  make  up,  with  no 
post-office,  no  church,  no  physician,  no 
policeman,  no  fireman,  and  only  one  store, 
— that  a  floating  one,  moored  to  the  steam- 
boat dock;  but  as  the  world  goes  these 
people  are  uncommonly  contented,  being 
healthy,  well  fed,  with  work  to  do  and  reg- 
ular pay  for  doing  it,  and  freedom  from  the 
interruptions  of  landlord,  tax  gatherer,  com- 
missioner of  jurors,  or  the  insurance  agent. 
Just  to  the  east  of  the  barracks  is  the  offi- 
cers' quarters,  soon  to  be  transferred  to  the 
new  brick  building  near  by;  and  in  the 
garden  is  the  so-called  "officers'  menagerie," 
containing  an  eagle,  a  crow,  and  an  owl, — 


the  remnant  of 
a  once  happy 
and  much  more 
numerous  fam- 
ily, which,  af- 
ter the  adoption 
of  the  owl,  grew 
beautifully  less 
with  each  suc- 
ceeding night. 

Having  pass- 
ed the  barracks, 
we  find  the 
scenes  more 
conventional. 
Before  us  stands 
the  fort,  occu- 
pying a  com- 
manding posi- 
tion, and  offering  a  fine  view  of  the  ocean 
and  the  bay.     This  is  intended  to  guard 
the  entrance  to  the  anchorage  bay  by  the 
Main  Channel,  a  half  mile  distant,  or  by 
the  Swash  Channel,  a  mile  further  north. 
When  completed  it  will  be  one  of  our  first- 
order  fortifications,  covering,  with  its  out- 
works, between  eighteen  and  twenty  acres, 
and  will  be  the  largest  in  the  United  States 
with  the  exception  of  Fortress  Monroe,  and 
perhaps  Fort  Adams  at  Newport.  The 
construction  of  this  fort  was  begun  in  1858 
under   the   superintendence   of  Captain, 
now  General,  Benham,  colonel  of  engin- 
eers, who  at  present  has  charge  of  this 
fort,  as  well   as   of  the   other  principal 
harbor  defenses.    Previous  to  the  suspension 
of  the  work  at  the  outbreak  of  the  last 
war,  the  foundations  of  the  main  north 
front  were  completed,  in  some  parts,  as 
high  as  the  embrasures.     The  principal 
part  of  the  work  was  done  subsequently, 
under  the  superintendence  of  the  late  Gen- 
eral Delafield,  chief  of  engineers,  by  whom 
the  arches  for  the  main  battery,  or  lower 
tier  of  guns,  were  built.     The  completion 
of  the  fort  has  since  been  delayed  by  the 
revolution  in  modern  artillery,  which,  it  is 
thought,  may  demand  changes  in  its  construc- 
tion and  outfit.    It  is  now  popularly  known 
as  "  the  Sandy  Hook  fort,"  but  it  has  never 
been  duly  christened;  the  name  of  "Fort 
Clinton "  has  been  proposed,  and  seems 
most  likely  to  be  adopted.    Its  foundation 
is  of  drift  sand,  made  within  the  past  cent- 
ury, but  it  seems  firm,  and  the  lines  of 
masonry  are  as  true  as  when  first  laid. 
Near  by  are  several  objects  of  interest, 
including  the  machine  shop ;  the  "  North 
Light,"  painted  red,  which  recently  took  the 


SANDY  HOOK. 


653 


place  of  the  old  "  dumb  beacon,"  so  long  a 
landmark ;  the  two  "  syrens,"  or  steam  fog- 
whistles,  which,  when  the  weather  is  thick, 
raise  a  terrific  alarum  by  their  six-second 
blasts  at  the  interval  of  every  forty  seconds ; 
and  the  head-quarters  of  the  ordnance  de- 
partment, very  completely  equipped,  where 
the  government  test  new  guns  and  other  ord- 
nance material  introduced  from  time  to  time. 
The  guns  are  discharged  by  electricity  from 
the  office,  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  distant. 
The  largest  of  the  practice  guns  is  a 
twelve-inch  rifle,  requiring  a  charge  of  115 
pounds  of  powder,  and  carrying  a  700- 
pound  shot. 

Lastly,  we  come  to  the  tower  of  the 
Western  Union  Telegraph  Company,  sev- 
enty feet  high,  where  a  lookout  now  pushes 
his  telescope  through  one  of  the  port-holes, 
and  slowly  scans  the  horizon.  The  little 
chamber  in  which  he  stands  is  ten  feet 
square,  furnished  with  a  desk,  chairs,  lights, 
spy-glasses,  telegraph  instruments,  and  a 
stove  that  in  winter  is  kept  red-hot,  for  this 
is  a  bleak  and  windy  perch.  This  station  is 
directly  connected  with  the  general  office  of 
the  company  in  New  York,  and  also  with  the 
Beaver  street  office  of  the  Maritime  Associ- 
ation. It  is  the  business  of  the  lookout  to 
report  the  approach  of  incoming  ships  and 
steamers.  In  the  day-time  he  recognizes 
them  by  flags  displayed  at  the  mizzen  mast- 
head, the  topmost,  or  ensign,  to  reveal  the 
nationality,  while  four  smaller  ones  beneath 
this  indicate  certain  letters,  and  as  soon  as 
he  distinguishes  these,  he  seeks  the  corre- 
sponding combination  in  the  u  International 
Code  of  Signals"  at  his  elbow,  and  in  this 
book  learns  name,  horse-power  and  tonnage. 
For  example,  Captain  Farrell  has  just 
sighted  an  incoming  steamer ;  let  us  see  if  we 
can  make  out  what  she  is.  At  the  mast-head 
floats  the  British  ensign.  Below  this  is  a 
square  flag,  yellow  and  blue,  divided  ver- 
tically,— that   means  "  K " ;   second  flag 


square,  with  blue  border,  then  white,  and 
centered  by  red, — that  means  "W";  third, 
square,  crossed  diagonally  by  white  lines, 
— that  means  "M";  fourth,  blue,  with 
white  square  in  center,—-"  K  W  M  P," — 
it  is  the  steamer  Adriatic,  of  the  White  Star 
Line.  At  night  ships  are  not  reported,  but 
the  signals  of  steamers  consist  of  lights  of 
various  colors;  thus,  the  Adriatic  would 
be  recognized  by  two  green  lights  burned 
on  deck,  aft,  twenty  feet  apart ;  or  a  Cun- 
arder  by  two  Roman  candles,  each  throwing 
six  blue  balls  about  150  feet,  with  a  blue 
light  over  the  stern  at  the  same  time.  The 
name  of  the  line  is  thus  clearly  indicated, 
and  it  is  easy  to  determine  the  individual 
steamer  by  knowing  which  one  is  due. 
The  importance  of  this  telegraph  station 
has  somewhat  decreased  since  the  ocean 
cable  came  into  use.  Moreover,  when  the 
cable  came,  Dickie's  work  was  done.  Dickie 
was  one  of  the  half  dozen  carrier  pigeons 
formerly  attached  to  this  station.  When  a 
transatlantic  steamer  hove  in  sight,  no  mat- 
ter how  rough  the  sea  or  stormy  the  sky, 
Captain  Farrell  took  Dickie  with  him  and 
rowed  out  to  receive  the  latest  European 
news.  The  message,  written  on  tissue 
paper,  was  attached  to  the  bird's  leg,  and 
with  swift  flight  he  returned  to  his  cote 
upon  the  tower,  where  the  assistant  oper- 
ator was  awaiting  him.  But  Dickie  was 
sometimes  obstinate,  recognizing  his  impor- 
tance very  exasperatingly  by  evading  the 
waiting  hand  and  walking  around  the  tower 
just  out  of  reach.  Now  he  drew  near  and 
looked  propitious ;  "  Come,  Dickie,  come, 
that's  a  dear,"  whispered  the  telegraph  man 
coaxingly.  Now  Dickie  cooed,  as  if  to 
say,  "  What's  the  hurry  !  what's  the  hurry !  " 
and  continued  to  sidle  away  to  the  very 
verge  of  the  roof.  And  so  it  some- 
times happened  that  all  America,  yearning 
for  news  from  the  Old  World,  waited  upon 
the  caprices  of  Dickie,  the  carrier  pigeon. 


654 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  ROME. 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  ROME. 


PICO  DELLA  MIRANDOLA.      (AFTER  ORIGINAL  IN    THE  UFIZZI  GALLERY,  FLORENCE;    PAINTER  UNKNOWN.) 


The  history  of  the  University  of  Rome  is 
in  many  respects  representative;  it  is  ap- 
proximately the  history  of  every  Italian 
university,  and  the  typical  features  are  here 
displayed  in  a  more  pronounced  degree 
than  in  the  annals  of  the  institutions  more 
remote  from  the  seats  of  authority.  Its 
unedifying  career  therefore  presents  a  most 
instructive  chapter  of  history,  and  teaches 
a  lesson  which  the  Italian  government  has 
not  failed  to  take  to  heart  and  to  apply 
with  exemplary  zeal  and  fearlessness. 

Previous  to  1870,  education  in  Italy  was 
generally  looked  upon  as  the  peculiar  prov- 


ince of  the  clergy,  and  even  at  the  present 
time,  in  spite  of  the  professedly  anti-clerical 
policy  of  the  government,  the  elementary 
instruction  is  largely  in  the  hands  of  the 
priests.  The  middle  class,  and,  indeed, 
many  of  the  highest  aristocracy,  prefer  to 
intrust  their  children  from  an  early  age  to 
their  spiritual  advisers,  rather  than  assume 
themselves  the  care  and  the  responsibility 
of  their  education.  Public  opinion,  at  least 
among  the  conservative  class,  sanctions 
this  course,  and  however  much  the  govern- 
ment may  seek  to  discourage  it,  the  priest 
will  maintain  his  influence  in  the  family 


AVER> 
DURS1 


